Uefa boycott: Women’s football ‘first casualties’ of Fifa’s plans

Fifa and Infantino want to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including its World Cups, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it.

It said it would “invite third parties to make minority, non-controlling investments” in a new subsidiary – Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE).

Infantino has set a deadline of 19 September for football federations to accept his controversial plans.

In a 25-page document created by investment bank JP Morgan, it is made clear Fifa’s tournaments would expand to hit an estimated increased pay-out of 24m euros per member association in the 2035-2039 cycle.

It mentions “new business initiatives” and “attracting top talent with incentive-driven compensation”.

The World Cup is described in it as the “most widely viewed” sporting event but Fifa, by contrast, is said to be “under-monetised”.

There is no mention in the document of the women’s game.

If approval is granted, Fifa says Thrive Eternal is expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE.

Thrive is an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner – the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared.